Without insurance, flu shots usually cost $25. A local program will offer them for free
Seasonal influenza has caused between 12,000 and 52,000 deaths annually in the last decade, according to federal mortality data.
But only between 30% and 40% of Texas adults have gotten their flu shot in recent years, according to the state health department and survey data.
One reason season flu shots uptake is so poor is because, unlike the COVID-19 vaccine, the flu shot costs money if a person doesn’t have health insurance to pay for it. Pharmacies and health clinics usually charge about $25 for a standard flu shot for someone without insurance.
But this flu season, Tarrant County Public Health is again partnering with pharmacy chains to provide the shot for free to county residents who don’t have insurance.
“If people go into a pharmacy, one of those participating pharmacies, and they do not have insurance, they can still get vaccinated,” Vinny Taneja, the county’s director of public health, said. “The county will pick up that cost on the back end with the pharmacy under our arrangement.”
County commissioners approved Tuesday an agreement with Brookshire’s and Albertsons, which also operates Tom Thumb grocery stores. Partnerships with other chains, including Kroger’s and Walgreens, are expected to be ready for commissioners to vote on next week. Walmart and CVS pharmacies are not participating in the program, Taneja said.
Tarrant County Public Health will publish a complete list of all the participating pharmacy locations where people without health insurance can get a free flu shot soon, Taneja said. Not all locations of the participating chains will offer free shots.
Tarrant County Public Health is also expected to receive free flu shots from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that it can also distribute to adults without health insurance.
The Affordable Care Act requires health insurance plans to cover the cost of immunizations and vaccines. At least 17% of Tarrant County residents don’t have health insurance, according to the most recent census estimates, leaving almost 350,000 people in the county with limited options to get a free shot.
Flu vaccination rates are typically low for Texas adults: In the 2018-19 season, just 43.2% of Texans 18 years and older got the vaccine, according to a report from the state health department. And for adults without insurance, vaccination rates were even worse. The most recent estimates available for uninsured Texans are from 2017. That year, just 22% of Texas adults without insurance got the shot.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone be vaccinated against seasonal influenza by the end of October, leaving just 12 full days left in the month to meet that timeline.
